Trash containers for disposing of food scraps and the like are well known. Frequently, such trash containers comprise a generally cylindrical trash can having an open top. A cover may be disposed atop the trash container. The cover either has an opening formed therein or a door attached thereto.
Such trash containers are commonly used in restaurants, fast food establishments, cafeterias, and the like. Sometimes, the customers themselves clean food scraps off of their plates. More often, kitchen personnel are responsible for scraping food scraps from the plates prior to the plates being placed into an automatic dishwasher.
As used herein, the word plate is defined to include plates, dishes, bowls, trays and the like, upon or within which food is disposed.
One of the problems commonly associated with the cleaning of plates is the inadvertent disposal of tableware, e.g., knives, forks, and spoons. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, it is not uncommon for pieces of tableware to be obscured beneath food scraps, or for kitchen personnel, in their haste to clean the plate, to miss even clearly visible tableware.
Metal tableware, typically formed from stainless steel, is very durable and is intended for long-term use. Such stainless steel tableware is also comparatively expensive. Therefore, it is highly undesirable to inadvertently dispose of such tableware. Indeed, the cost of replacing such stainless steel tableware can be substantial, particularly if it is routinely being lost.
Food scraps are typically scraped from plates, trays, and the like. Kitchen personnel commonly utilize tableware, rubber spatulas, or the like to scrape food scraps from plates prior to placing the plates in an automatic dishwasher.
As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the use of such rubber spatulas and the like to scrape food scraps from plates is comparatively time consuming and inefficient. Further it requires that a spatula be readily available. Such spatulas must also periodically be replaced at some cost to the purchaser.
When such a spatula or other implement is used to scrape food from plates, then one hand is used to hold the spatula, while the other hand holds the plate. Such manual operation is comparatively slow. It is substantially limited to the scraping of one plate at a time.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide a device for preventing the inadvertent disposal of tableware. It is also desirable to provide a device for scraping food scraps from plates which is easy to use, time efficient, and cost-effective. More particularly, it is desirable to provide a device which allows a user to hold a plate in each hand while effecting scraping thereof, thereby effectively doubling the number of plates which may be scraped in any given time period.